The park has been overwhelmed by the massive influx of guests travelling there over the Chinese New Year and other national holidays, and executive vice president Bill Ernest has made it known that the park is desperate for more things to offer – something us Disneyphiles have known since the plans were released. The only major Disney classic attractions at the park being Space Mountain and the Jungle Cruise (OK, it is the biggest Cruise of them all but at the expense of a Rivers of America), rumours are awash the Internet of "it's a small world" setting up in Fantasyland in 2007 and a hybrid of Pirates of the Caribbean and Splash Mountain following a voodoo-themed Haunted Mansion along with the Raging Spirits coaster from Tokyo DisneySea into Adventureland in 2008.

Don't expect any re-tooled E-tickets just yet though.

Park management has not made a secret of Autopia being the first addition to the Chinese Magic Kingdom, having been on the park map since opening day, albeit in a semi-transparent illustration. The first Autopia to feature green-friendly electric automobiles, this incarnation of the fifty-year old Walt Disney classic is opening with a twist. Whereas other Autopias in Disneyland and Disneyland Paris have been based on the 'innovative' highway and the Speedway at the Magic Kingdom and Raceway at Tokyo Disneyland are based on race tracks, this Autopia is a journey around "an alien landscape filled with strange-looking trees and shrubs that are (or at least appear to be) out of this world", as the official press release so imaginatively puts it. It should be interesting.

The second and third additions to the park will also be setting up business in Tomorrowland, making the most popular land at Hong Kong Disneyland the most populous. The UFO Zone – apparently UFO stands for Undeniably Fun Objects – is simply a gathering of colourful water pumps and fountains. It isn't the most imaginative attraction created by Walt Disney Imagineering, and it does share a lot of similarities with its cousin over in Adventureland (the Liki Tikis) but I would rather have the UFO Zone than keep the empty space of concrete which is the future site of the 'attraction'.

I must admit I am quite intrigued by the third, and final – for now, attraction. Not completely original, but better than the glorified showers over at the other side of the land, the Stitch Encounter uses the same innovative WDI-developed technology used to baffle audiences at Disney's California Adventure and Epcot at Turtle Talk with Crush. Completely interactive with the audience, a computer-realised Stitch is controlled by an operator at the side of the stage, who answers questions from the audience in character. As the storyline goes, Stitch is teaching the audience a few Hawaiian phrases before being interrupted by arch-nemesis Gantu. The show prides itself on "never been the same show twice" – which I suppose you can't really fault it for, you do get a truly unique experience each time, and I expect the performance is quite comedic.

So what else can we expect at Hong Kong Disneyland?

Well, I believe these three new additions to Tomorrowland is all that 2006 will see – the parade will not be changed for a few years, nor while the fireworks unless Disney decide to do a Disneyland Paris and trial Wishes at the park during the summer months – apparently Wishes' run at the French park was so successful dates for this summer's run have been announced and Disney are even considering replacing the permanent Fantasy in the Sky fireworks with the Floridian import year-round.

Earlier on in the article, I mentioned the rumours of classic Disney E-tickets appearing at the park in coming years. Apparently, Imagineers are currently putting the finishing touches on the design plans for "it's a small world", and the proposal for Raging Spirits is still going through executives at Hongkong International Theme Parks, the corporation founded by Disney and the Chinese government to run the park and the resort.

"it's a small world" is 95% definite – it would take someone in a position such as the one Robert Iger is in to stop it being built – and ground-breaking should begin sometime in the fourth quarter of the year, for a summer 2007 opening. What else could be coming in 2007? I would say, expect a few A- and B-ticket attractions – ranging between the scale of the UFO Zone and the Stitch Encounter – popping up across Adventureland and Fantasyland. Saying that though, 2008 looks like a big year for Adventureland – and with "it's a small world" making its way there in 2007, Fantasyland could be the only recipient of additions next year. I have heard – sorry, read – rumours of expansions to the Jungle River Cruise and the implementations of the Rockit Mountain overlay on to Space Mountain from Disneyland; but don't take my word for it, they're only rumours.

I must say, there is some logic in Michael Eisner's newfound shrewdness after the catastrophe caused at Euro Disneyland – you know, the theory that instead of opening a massive park and seeing it fail, you open a park small, and expand if it does well – and I think it may work at Hong Kong Disneyland. The park has been assaulted by thousands of Chinese from the mainland, and the nearby main island, and the park's low capacity is becoming a burden on the park – if there are more attractions, the capacity can be raised. That means more (Hong Kong) dollars for Disney and Beijing, and more happy Disney fans.

You may have noticed the title of this article is Expansion in the East; it does refer to the location of Hong Kong Disneyland, but I have also took this opportunity to report on the latest happenings at the other Eastern resort – no, not the Tokyo Disney Resort, but the Walt Disney World Resort. I have heard (again, I amend that to read) that Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom will be subject to a few (sorry, loads!) changes. Read Tomorrowland Transit Authority going Rocket Rods stylι, Space Mountain being ripped apart and Pixar taking over the World of Tomorrow! Again, I stress – although my sources for this information are quite open about it and they have their own sources that apparently are high placed at WDI – they are just rumours so far…

Well that was my first proper article. I really hoped you enjoy reading it – so much that you will come back next time and read all about what's going on right now in the middle of the hurricane that is the DisneyToon Studios.